T w e n t y S i d e d
Sorry. I know most of the posts this week have been “Hey, go to another site for something I made!” I really did write a slate of posts this week, but… the dog ate them. No. Actually, I had posts written this week but then got wrapped in the the deluge of feedback from Quaking of WarCrysis 3, which was a lot larger than I anticipated. We’ll get things back on track around here Real Soon Now.
In the meantime, my new MMO series has begun!
Programming Vexations
Here is a 13 part series where I talk about programming games, programming languages, and programming problems.
Steam Summer Blues
This mess of dross, confusion, and terrible UI design is the storefront the big publishers couldn't beat? Amazing.
Megatextures
A video discussing Megatexture technology. Why we needed it, what it was supposed to do, and why it maybe didn't totally work.
Quakecon 2011 Keynote Annotated
An interesting but technically dense talk about gaming technology. I translate it for the non-coders.
Batman: Arkham City
A look back at one of my favorite games. The gameplay was stellar, but the underlying story was clumsy and oddly constructed.
Hell yes! And with this beginning, the Escapist has nearly everything I want to read/watch. I nearly lost it at ‘faffing’. ((1st))
Good lord you picked a hobbit in the shire. This should be interesting considering that the shire about the least heroic starting area in the game. And with hobbits being hobbits well let’s say there will be a lot of fuel on those wooded hills.
I absolutely loved the Champions series and I’m very eager to see LotRO unfold. I also don’t mind it’s on the Escapist. I’m not allergic to clicking.
BTW: what is up with one (or two) of the most powerful creatures in the world roaming a starting area? Nazgul should be boss fights.
You don’t fight the Nazgul, they remain legendary badasses throught the game. ((Aside from the fear of fire)) Its actually one of the most immersive parts of the game, seeing the nazgul scene from the beginning of the movie unfold before your eyes.
They aren’t roaming it, per se. You don’t see them outside the tutorial, the only time you run into them is during the Epic Quests. As for why they’re in the Shire, the Epic Quests follow the path of the Fellowship – and they start right around when Frodo and Sam are hauling towards the Brandywine with their breeches set ablaze.
Excellent choice for the next Let’s Play, Shamus! I love LOTRO and it’s a good fit for you.
Man, this walking gets a little boring.
80% of the time my wife walks by while I am playing LOTRO, I am running somewhere. It is her impression that this is more or less the game. I am not sure she’s wrong. I imagine this applies to most MMOs.
As far as disliking combat, it’s possible for an alt to level into the high teens without participating in any mob kills. It will be interesting to see how Lulzy’s career starts out.
I’ll comment on the Nazgul in the tutorial after Part 2 to avoid spoiling anything.
It’ll be interesting to see your opinion about LOTRO, as I myself really like the game. I’ve been playing for 3 months now and I have lvl 45 guardian. (Actually a bit under 3 months, I had some break during christmas holidays.) Too bad I can’t see you online because I’m playing on Europe server.
Also, I love Forochel.. It’s just amusing to see finnish names there, being from Finland and all.. It’s very beautiful area, too.
While I’m looking forward to this, the name is killing me. Not that I’m a purist about lore, but because I’m going to be constantly thinking, “Hah! Shamus did for the lulz . . . y.”
Hmph. Escapist is blocked by our web filters. Curse you, Shamus, for making me wait until I get home to read this!! :p
*Sigh* same here and I like to, you know, play games at home not read prose about them. Oh well, maybe the LotR servers will be down and I can read it then… yea that’s the ticket. Of course in the 2+ years I’ve been playing that’s happened hardly ever.
Haha looks like this new “Shamus Plays” series is off to an even better start than the Champs Online series. Looking forward to reading more!
Hmmm… maybe if I have any free time in my life this semester I’ll re-activate my LOTRO subscription. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to enjoy a mature MMO.
Great start! Nice pick of starting a hobbit in the Shire – the most uniquely LotRO starting place. Other games you just kill things and retrieve little bits of them, but in the Shire you deliver mail and pies!
Congrats again on landing your Let’s Play with the Escapist, and congrats as well on a first entry that had a higher LPM (lol’s per minute) than anything I’ve read/watched/listened to lately.
Just so I can go ahead and get my bookmarks in Morning Coffee set up right, how often will this adventure in Hobbitown be appearing? Are we talking weekly, Tuesday-Thursday, what?
It was a nice read. Quite amusing. But I myself never really got into LotRO. I prefer WoW. But that’s just personal taste. I have a sort of request. If it is possible could you please do a let’s play on Star Trek Online sometime in the future. I will be eagerly waiting for the next part of Lulzy’s adventures.
A very good read – and proof, if any be needed, that the leading cause of death in the Shire is…er…the post office…
Maybe you should do a weekly roundup of off-site posts instead? I don’t mind either way, but i subscribe by RSS to both this AND the escapist stuff…
Hey, Shamus, have you considered making the D20 over there =====================================>
refer to a randomized blog post? It just… it feels ODD, just sitting there, not clickable at all. :(
Oh no, you rolled a Minstrel? That’s the same mistake I made. Oh well, it’ll certainly produce a lot of material…
I trust you’ll be posting here to let us know whenever there’s a new episode up?
Am I the only one whose first thought upon seeing this character was ‘Here comes the midget burlesque dancing’?
Yay, another Let’s Play!
I like LotRO, but now that I’m having to choose between LotRO and Star Trek Online, I’ve chosen Star Trek Online. My LotRO subscription lapses basically the same day STO comes out.
Edit: I don’t like how in that first Hobbit quest, the postman is telling me what my face looks like – that my face looks like I intend to take it there myself. Maybe my face is just ugly, and I really just want to go home and eat those mushrooms I found on the way to the post office.
*applauds*
How do you find the time – I’m picturing you with 4 arms, two heads, an obscenely crammed time manager and a very understanding wife.
I’ll chip in with my wish for next Let’s Play to be ignored: A Tale In The Desert.
Looking forward to the following posts.
“Hmmm… maybe if I have any free time in my life this semester I'll re-activate my LOTRO subscription. It's been a long time since I've been able to enjoy a mature MMO.”
Now would be a good time. January 21-25 is a “Welcome Back Weekend” when expired accounts can come back and play for free. They do these probably 3-4 times a year I think.
Great! I was a big fan of Star on Chest’s adventures. Glad to see another Let’s Play.
@froogger: that’s still around? (I was “silver” in the first telling).
Not enough Borderlands for my tastes, but still hilarious to see that some awful MMO traditions transcend time, theme, and logic.
Eh? What’s wrong with the name Tourmaline? I used it for one of my City of Heroes/Villains characters. (Why do I just feel like I gave you a good excuse right there?)
Anyway, your last Let’s Play was hilarious so I have high hopes for this one.
Hah! just in time, as I reactivated my LOTRO account two days ago. I missed running around the Shire. The Shire was that game’s money shot.
It’s sad, but I think I can have a satisfactory time never leaving the Shire and just growing tobacco.
If you are on Silverlode…look up “Gerold” (yes, it’s a Frankish name…since everyone already took Peppin or Berro; Hmm I actually could get away with Bryce, it is period, but it would be a bit tooooo meta.)
I don’t know, probably just me, but this wasn’t as funny as your Star on Chest story.
Plus, going with Lulzy as a name just seemed like a betrayal, even if it was to make a joke.
Seems pretty faithful to the world, then ;)
Another Escapist series, Shamus? It seems like you can’t do anything these days without Russ Pitts snapping it up. Pretty soon they’ll just kidnap you – chaining you up in a dank and dripping dungeon – there to create funny and gripping content for the rest of your days.
Good luck with your new series. :)
Brilliant opening Shamus!Leave it to you to think of creating a peace loving little hobbit in an MMO full of things to kill and levels to gain. I can’t wait to read more!
*Sigh* I totally forgot…In the Shire, a proud adventurer and hero is needed for life-threatening tasks that harrow the hearts of ordinary Hobbits.
Such as the one Hobbit that got a little too hungry and ate his Wife’s pie crust that she set out to cool, and is desperately looking for someone to cook another as a replacement before she finds out.
I may be handy with a spear, blade or cudgel, but the way of eggs, flour and blazing oven is beyond my skills…
New series looks damn good so far.
Not really apropos of anything, can I ask a question (directed at Shamus, but open to all)? I’ve finally caved and decided to buy my first next-gen console since the PS2 came out. If I can only get EITHER the PS3 or the 360, do you have a recommendation? I’m primarily interested in getting the most bang for my buck, so current and projected library is the biggest factor for me at the moment.
Thank you all for your feedback.
Sigh, the escapist is blocked at work.
Do all these links mean you’re now joining the government conspiracy to make me actually earn the money they pay me?
Damn you, damn you all to HELL!
Nice! Anticipation level rising and all that. Anything that exposes new readers to DMotR and gives me a solid “Let’s play” dose of Shamus each week is a win of the bordering on epic variety.
I think this series has promise, but I thought the opening was rather forced. Quite honestly, I felt like this one went through some editing that took some of the je ne sais quoi from the writing. I’m hoping The Escapist doesn’t have this effect long-term.
@7thGenNoob
You might want to check this:
http://www.hardcoreware.net/playstation-3-vs-xbox-360-two-years-later/
It was written last year but the comments keep it up to date.
Darn it, I’m a sucker for anything LoTR and this is going to make me want to play this game very much. I have neither the time nor the money for an MMO (though I’m sort of hoping SW:TOR will turn out to be solo-able when it arrives). Damn you and your funny funny stories, Shamus! :p Seriously, though, this was good. I’m going to enjoy this even more than SOC and those were fun too.
Which server are you logging? My boys and I have a trio of hobbits running through the Epic story as fast as possible. Want to tag along. It is funny as h#!! to see a hobbit warden in action. Especially with a hobbit mini circling their prey.
Would it be possible to mirror those posts here? Or does The Man demand exclusive rights to your soul… er, works?
I use an rss feedreader for your blog, so you can imagine my excitement when it says “New post! You don’t get to read it here. I hope you like firing up an external web browser!”
@silver Harloe:
Sure is, in its 4th telling last time I checked. Can’t find my time for such timesinks anymore, but ATiTD was a very good place to mess around. Only MMO with decent crafting I’ve tried anyway.
This is a minor spoiler(depends upon anyone else who responds), but will there be any mention in the stories of Sara Oakheart from a hobbit’s perspective? :)
I read this with my wife. We could hardly contain our merriment. I was quite difficult to read aloud.
Aw, I was hoping you’d do my MMO that I already know all the good points and flaws of already…
Oh wait, yay!
Been busy this week, and haven’t been able to comment on the text adventure or the new LP. Suffice it to say, both are great, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how your series on The Escapist goes.
So far, my Delightometer favors Star on Chest, but this is off to a good start. Shame about the format, though. I much preferred Let’s Play when it was hosted on your site, and wasn’t broken up into four separate pages. I guess the siren call of fame and fortune was too much to resist. Not that I blame you. :)